Presidents thoughts of the week #1

A weekly edition of industry news

Published March 24th 2016 by Dr. Paul Spice, IACE President and Founder

“Something to think about” a weekly post from the President

Hi everyone, this is the first of a regular weekly issue of “Something to think about”. Topics will be almost unlimited, and it will “do what it says on the tin”, which is to give you all something to think about, and something to discuss over the next coffee or tea break – wherever you guys are from minus 25°C to plus 50°C. Some will be technical, some political, and some even frivolous. Let’s start with a serious thought.

This week: Will the USA exploit its vast potential as a major natural gas (LNG) exporter, and if it does, will there be some big LNG projects coming up soon?

I quote from a recent Nexant study:
“Buoyed by surging unconventional natural gas production and the large disconnect between crude oil prices and Henry Hub, the United States has vast potential as a major natural gas exporter. However, the current prospects for U.S. LNG exports look different compared to just one or two years previously. The contemporary energy price environment is changing dramatically, leaving many existing and prospective buyers wondering about the future competitiveness of the U.S. as an LNG exporter. Will the USA be able to compete with the “emerging” LNG suppliers like Canada, East Africa, and Russia? With the narrowing differential between Henry Hub-based and oil-linked LNG deliveries to Asia, in today’s low oil price environment, has the attraction of U.S. LNG projects faded?”

Note 1: The Henry Hub is a distribution hub on the natural gas pipeline system in Erath, Louisiana, owned by Sabine Pipe Line LLC, a subsidiary of EnLink Midstream Partners LP who purchased the asset from Chevron Corporation in 2014. It lends its name to the pricing point for natural gas futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX)